I Am Only a Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand

by L. Nichols

Overview

Some books take the whole of a lifetime to write.

I Am Only a Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand continues Flocks, L. Nichols’s graphic memoir of growing up trans in the rural South. These comics document L.’s further transition, from living as a man to walking the middle path, facing depression, disease, divorce and death. Healing leaves scars, things fall apart, and pronouns change until there is no I, there is only us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798985586350
Publisher:	Secret Acres
Publication date:	11/14/2023
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

L. Nichols was born and raised in rural southwest Louisiana and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Media Arts and Sciences, both from MIT. L. has a unique voice that utilizes the language of science and engineering to add an additional layer of meaning and complexity to their work. Nichols also incorporates elements of comics to turn their paintings into broader narrative forms. L. lives works as an illustrator, comic artist, graphic designer, educator and sometime blacksmith with their two children in New York’s Hudson Valley. They have been published in over a dozen comics and art books.

Editorial Reviews

"Part of a growing body of trans comics, L. Nichols’s autobiographical Flocks upbringing in southwest Louisiana — where he was raised as a girl — and present his improbable, fraught journey to M.I.T. and later into his transition and marriage… …Nichols’s narrative uses cartoon figuration — in this case, a shifting, button-eyed rag doll — to represent nonbinary gender identity, revealing how comics can help offer a language of expression outside of societal norms." — The New York Times

"Written and drawn with equal parts raw honesty and a wide-open heart, this lovely full-color book should have crossover appeal for younger readers, middle school and up, opening up the experience of any reader challenged by their gender identity, sexuality, and/or conflicting religious beliefs." — Publishers Weekly

"Flocks is a generous glimpse into the most personal of issues, shared by an author who knows how to look at a situation from every angle." — Foreword

"Flocks is one of the most powerful works I’ve read… …It’s remarkable in that it avoids judgement and preachiness in her handling of what are generally perceived as extremely sensitive subjects... ...a searingly honest piece of work." — Comics Beat

"(Nichols) brings an instantly apparent, appealing, and accessible intensity of emotion and craft to whatever he’s doing, in whatever vein." — The Comics Journal

From the Publisher